late

[leyt] /leɪt/
adjective, later or latter, latest or last.
1.
occurring, coming, or being after the usual or proper time:
late frosts; a late spring.
2.
continued until after the usual time or hour; protracted:
a late business meeting.
3.
near or at the end of day or well into the night:
a late hour.
4.
belonging to the time just before the present moment; most recent:
a late news bulletin.
5.
immediately preceding the present one; former:
the late attorney general.
6.
recently deceased:
the late Mr. Phipps.
7.
occurring at an advanced stage in life:
a late marriage.
8.
belonging to an advanced period or stage in the history or development of something:
the late phase of feudalism.
adverb, later, latest.
9.
after the usual or proper time, or after delay:
to arrive late.
10.
until after the usual time or hour; until an advanced hour, especially of the night:
to work late.
11.
at or to an advanced time, period, or stage:
The flowers keep their blossoms late in warm climates.
12.
recently but no longer:
a man late of Chicago, now living in Philadelphia.
Idioms
13.
of late, lately; recently:
The days have been getting warmer of late.
Origin
before 900; Middle English; Old English læt slow, late; cognate with German lass slothful, Old Norse latr, Gothic lats slow, lazy, Latin lassus tired
Related forms
lateness, noun
overlate, adjective
overlateness, noun
Can be confused
former, later, latter.
Synonyms
1. tardy; slow, dilatory; delayed, belated. 4. See modern.
Examples from the web for late
  • But the drug works best if started early in the disease, and the treatment came too late to benefit this patient.
  • They come late often, and many will even walk out to buy a snack and come back in with said food.
  • Night owls might think staying up late is a real hoot, but a new study hints that delayed sleep might have a sinister side.
  • Sometimes the e-texts arrived months or even years late.
  • The history of anti-recession efforts is that they are almost always initiated too late to do any good.
  • He has made some changes to pensions and social security, but in general his reform efforts have been too little, too late.
  • The blooming period is from late spring to late summer.
  • Because ovarian cancer often progresses to its late stages with few outward signs, it has come to be known as a silent killer.
  • Practice too late and you've forgotten the material and have to relearn it.
  • But administrators are not the ones out there late at night when students are making decisions about drinking.
British Dictionary definitions for late

late

/leɪt/
adjective
1.
occurring or arriving after the correct or expected time: the train was late
2.
(prenominal) occurring, scheduled for, or being at a relatively advanced time: a late marriage
3.
(prenominal) towards or near the end: the late evening
4.
at an advanced time in the evening or at night: it was late
5.
(prenominal) occurring or being just previous to the present time: his late remarks on industry
6.
(prenominal) having died, esp recently: my late grandfather
7.
(prenominal) just preceding the present or existing person or thing; former: the late manager of this firm
8.
of late, recently; lately
adverb
9.
after the correct or expected time: he arrived late
10.
at a relatively advanced age: she married late
11.
recently; lately: as late as yesterday he was selling books
12.
late hours, rising and going to bed later than is usual
13.
late in the day
  1. at a late or advanced stage
  2. too late
Derived Forms
lateness, noun
Usage note
Since late can mean deceased, many people think it is better to avoid using this word to refer to the person who held a post or position before its present holder: the previous (not the late) editor of The Times
Word Origin
Old English læt; related to Old Norse latr, Gothic lats
Word Origin and History for late
adj.

Old English læt "occurring after the customary or expected time," originally "slow, sluggish," from Proto-Germanic *lata- (cf. Old Norse latr "sluggish, lazy," Middle Dutch, Old Saxon lat, German laß "idle, weary," Gothic lats "weary, sluggish, lazy," latjan "to hinder"), from PIE *led- "slow, weary" (cf. Latin lassus "faint, weary, languid, exhausted," Greek ledein "to be weary"), from root *le- "to let go, slacken" (see let (v.)).

The sense of "deceased" (as in the late Mrs. Smith) is from late 15c., from an adverbial sense of "recently." Of women's menstrual periods, attested colloquially from 1962. Related: Lateness. As an adverb, from Old English late.

Idioms and Phrases with late

late

also see:
also see under:
later